I was driving north on Hwy. 540, it was raining moderately/hard, I just passed the mile marker 32, it was 3:35 am.

When off to the left I seen what at first looked like a explosion, it then lifted above the tree line and shot straight up. The initial explosion was yellowish with a white hot core as it rose it then turned to a blue core with a greenish outer glow, then it turned a brilliant purple/magenta color and disappeared.

The shape of the light was like what you might see coming out of the bottom of a rocket. I didn't see any type of craft/vehicle because the light was so bright. It lit the surrounding area up like daylight.

There was other traffic in the area and 5 of us all pulled over to the shoulder of the road.

During the event my radio stopped working, as soon as the light disappeared it came back on.

Now 12 hours later my eyes feel as if they had been welder burned and bright light makes them hurt.

I was so spooked by what I saw my adrenaline spiked and when I finally got home a hour later, I had the shakes and felt nauseated.